Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 15.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,079 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,842 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter worth $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable in the second quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Equitable in the second quarter valued at $75,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.17, for a total transaction of $1,912,349.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 689,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,191,056.80. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robin M. Raju sold 36,888 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,991,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 140,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,573,932. This trade represents a 20.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 172,168 shares of company stock valued at $8,994,990 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EQH. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.18.

Equitable Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $45.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of -16.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.39 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.87.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.13%.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.